USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > The History of Muscatine county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 60
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Mr. John Mahin, whose apprenticeship began in 1847, and whose life has been spent in the office of the Journal, is the oldest newspaper man, in point of service, in Iowa. There is but one who can claim a longer continuous term, but his does not begin until one year later than Mr. Mahin's. We refer to Mr. W. W. Junkin, of the Fairfield Ledger. Mr. Mahin was out of the office for one year, and, with that brief intermission, has been there since September, 1847. This is a rare and most remarkable record.
The Journal now publishes three regular editions, viz., daily, tri-weekly and weekly. The paper is conducted with marked ability and is a power in the ranks of Republican journalism.
TIIE MUSCATINE TRIBUNE.
In 1848, H. D. La Cossitt established the Democratic Enquirer, and remained as its head until 1853, when, for six months, W. B. Langridge administered its affairs. Mr. La Cossitt returned, and, in 1854, sold to Jerome Carskadden and T. Meason Williams. In 1855, the paper became the prop-
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
erty of Williams, Gibson & Co., with Judge Robert Williams as editor. The paper was conducted with vigor, and became an influential advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. Judge Williams informs the writer that he was the first editor in Iowa to advance the name of James Buchanan for the Presidency, in opposition to the Western idea of presenting Stephen A. Douglas. During his residence in Pennsylvania, his native State, the editor had formed a personal friendship for Mr. Buchanan, and his advocacy of that gentleman was upon personal grounds.
In January, 1856, the Enquirer passed into the hands of Daniel S. Biles and E. W. Clark ; but the latter retired, after a few months, and was succeeded by Samuel MeNutt, who became editor and half proprietor of the paper. This arrangement lasted but a short time, and Mr. Biles took charge of the office, continuing as its head until 1860. The paper was then suspended.
John Trainor King bought the office, and established the Review, which was published as a daily. In 1861, Edward H. Thayer succeeded Mr. King, and changed the name of the paper to the Courier. In 1864, Barnhart Brothers purchased the office, and subsequently associated with them W. W. Witmer. Under this arrangement, the Courier continued until 1872.
In 1870, the Telegraph was established, by E. O. Upham and Charles Sib- ley. This paper continued for about six months, when the name was changed to the Weekly Tribune, under the management of George W. Van Horne. In 1872, Mr. Van Horne purchased the Courier, and merged it into the Tribune. In 1873, Mr. Van Horne became associated with E. H. and William Betts, and in April, 1874, began the publication of the Daily Tribune, with a weekly edi- tion. In April, 1877, Mr. Van Horne retired from the office, and the business is now under the sole management of the Betts Brothers.
The Tribune is one of the most enterprising and readable papers in the State. Its daily edition appears in the morning, and contains a record of the events of the times, given in entertaining form. Its local, as well as its editorial columns, are fresh and readable, and the paper is manifestly conducted by gen- tlemen of ability and of devotion to the profession of their choice.
OTHER PAPERS.
In 1860, a campaign paper, called the Messenger, in support of Bell and Everett as Presidential candidates, was published by Samuel C. Dunn. Since then, several other publications have appeared. such as the Roarin' Rug, by B. Neidig, an advertising sheet for his job office, but a spicy paper withal ; the New Era, by Washburn & Whicher, real estate dealers ; the Humming Bird, by O. G. Jack : and a brief-lived paper called the Democrat.
The German press was represented by the Zeitung, established in 1857, by Charles Rotteck. This venture proved unprofitable, and the office was removed to Keokuk the following year.
The Deutsche-Zeitung was established in 1874, by J. W. Weippiert, and was continued with success. This spring, G. W. Weippiert succeeded his father in the proprietorship of the paper.
WILTON PRESS.
The Wilton Chronicle was the first paper published at Wilton, and was established in October, 1867, by Charles Baker and M. H. Thompson, editors and proprietors. It was a seven-column paper published entirely at home. In appearance it was very creditable, and the matter it contained was prepared with care, having reference chiefly to the affairs of the town. This first number
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
contained an interesting description of the business of the town, a history of the business men and their establishments. Of the first num- ber there were 1,000 copies printed, and yet the demand exceeded the supply. Among the most extensive advertisers were Frank Bacon, E. E. Bacon, A. C. Blizzard, C. B. Strong and Addis & Strickland. The Chronicle was neutral in politics, but was well edited and newsy, and was attended with as good a degree of prosperity as usually falls to the lot of embryo country journals. In March, 1868, the name of C. D. Eaton appeared as associate editor. At this time, there were employed in the office S. J. Mathes, Giles O. Pearce and Jesse Markee. During the ensuing season, the paper was conducted with great vigor-the Presidential canvass between Grant and Colfax and Seymour and Blair. The billows of party politics ran high, and the publishers of the Chronicle, desiring to soar above a neutral posi- tion, communicated their intention to make their paper "fearlessly and impla- cably Republican." Accordingly, about the 1st of June, it took the position indicated, and, amid varied vicissitudes and changes, maintained it to the close of its career. In the autumn of that year, after election, Mr. Thompson with- drew from the firm, and the firm of Baker & Eaton continued the publication of the Chronicle till the spring of 1869, in the mean time starting the West Liberty Enterprise. In May of this year, while the firm remained the same, the two members divided their labors, Mr. Baker remaining with the Chronicle, while Mr. Eaton gave his time to the Enterprise. In September, 1869, the firm of Baker & Eaton was dissolved-Mr. Baker being left sole editor and proprietor. Early in the winter, Mr. Baker sold the office to Henry C. Ashbaugh, who con- ducted the Chronicle as editor and publisher for nearly a year. In the mean time-June, 1870-Mr. Eaton returned and commenced the publication of a second paper, which he called The True Republican. Mr. Eaton succeeded tolerably well in this enterprise, and in January, 1871, he purchased of Mr. Ashbaugh the subscription-list and good-will of the Chronicle. The two papers were consolidated by Mr. Eaton as the Republican and Chronicle until May of that year, when he sold the entire establishment to C. E. Cheesbro, who reduced the size of the paper and rechristened it the Wilton Chronicle. Early in the fall of that year, the paper was again sold to Mr. Baker, and in the following winter, Mr. Baker took as a partner H. J. Vail, who continued about a year, when he withdrew, and Mr. Baker was sole owner again until August, 1873, when he leased the office to Messrs. G. O. and G. B. Pearce for one year. In July, 1874. they changed the name from Chronicle to Herald. During the administration of the Pearce Brothers, valuable additions were made to the material of the office-so much that when Mr. Baker took his away they had sufficient for every purpose. When their term of lease expired, they purchased the subscription-list and good-will and continued the publication until Novem- ber 23, 1874, when they sold to J. E. Stevenson. In the month of August, 1874, J. M. Rider & Co. established a second paper, called the Wilton Erpo- nent, the first number of which appeared Friday, August 21, the next day after the great fire. Both papers continued publication until March 10, 1876, when they were consolidated, and the names Herald and Exponent were merged into the Review, edited and published by Rider & Stevenson. March 10, 1877, Mr. Stevenson retired, and the paper was published by J. M. Rider until April 20, same year, when Mr. William Lee, of Tipton, became a half-partner, and the firm was styled Rider & Lee. The paper has been continned under this management, with J. N. Rider as editor, since that date.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
WEST LIBERTY ENTERPRISE.
The Enterprise was established in April, 1868, by Mr. Baker, of Wilton, Iowa, and edited by Exune Saint, of West Liberty. In the fall of the same year, the paper was sold to C. D. Eaton and George Trumbo. The following year, 1869, Mr. Trumbo became sole proprietor ; subsequently, he formed a partnership, in 1873, with A. R. Fuller ; but in January, 1874, again the same was dissolved, and, in February of that year, the material and good will were sold to J. W. McElravy, who is the present owner and editor of the paper, which, under his management, has been made a success. He has changed and enlarged it to a six-column quarto, and reduced its price. The circulation of the Enterprise has been at least doubled since McElravy purchased the same. Having taken hold of. the paper without any previous experience in journalism, he is all the more deserving of credit for the results achieved.
EDUCATIONAL.
While the question of how to get a living was the foremost one in the minds of the pioneers, the less direct, though none the less important, one of how to educate their children was not overlooked. Almost contemporaneous with their own dwellings, they began the building of such schoolhouses as they could, crude and primitive in the extreme, for such only would their appliances admit, and put together without regard to externals.
These same pioneer schoolhouses will, in the future, be a theme for the artist-quite equal in every way to those supplied by the peasantry in the Old World, with their quaint, simple fashions and unperverted lives. The eye of the connoisseur delights in those realistic representations of still life-the white-haired old grandfather, whose toil of years has only brought him his cottage and bit of land : the still hard-working " gude wife," with bent body and withered but cheerful old face; the next generation, just in the prime of labor, rough, uncouth, and content to have for recreation a pipe and a mug of ale; and the children with rosy cheeks and stout limbs, dressed in veritable costumes their grandmothers wore before them. And no wonder such a picture pleases and charms the jaded senses of the worn-out worldling. But even that is not more fresh and unaccustomed than his log shanty, with its one small room, a window of but few panes of glass, and possibly a dirt floor; and with rough-hewn benches ranged round the walls for seats, over which the pupil made a fine gymnastic flourish whenever he felt it necessary to reach his teacher, with his forefinger firmly planted on the knotty word or sum that puz- zled him.
These are the picturesque features of the artist's pencil. And what " learn- ing" there was must have been a "dangerous thing," for it was certainly " little :" the grading was far from exact : the system was a kind of hit-or- miss affair ; but, nevertheless. it was " school." and from the first there was a deeply-rooted prejudice among the Iowa settlers in favor of schools. School for week-days and a meeting-house for Sunday ! this same little pen of a house served two purposes. And could anything exeept the groves themselves- " God's first temples "-be nearer to nature as a tabernacle than was this, where some chance circuit preacher would have for his congregation every man, woman and child in the entire settlement ? None of those hypercritical
.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
listeners there, you may be sure, who gauge the preacher by his " intellectual- ity," his "magnetism" or his "culture." It was the Word preached- welcome, pure and life-giving always-and not the preacher, which these listen- ers crowded to hear. If he but had the good Methodist zeal, then he was sure of devout hearers. He did not need to have "traveled," except upon his lone circuit over the prairie; nor did he feel it necessary to use his pulpit in the interest of politics-if he knew his Bible, he was qualified; nor did his flock feel called upon to put their hands into their pockets and contribute toward sending their Pastor on a summer vacation to the sea-side or to Europe. All these improvements have come in with better churches and more advanced ways of thinking. That was the old way, and a direct contrast to the new.
Now, nothing which the architect's taste can devise is too good for school- house or for church. Look at the plenitude of tidy, commodious buildings in every county. and not designed for double service, either, but dedicated solely to the use of the schoolma'am, who hereabouts is thoroughly skilled in her pro- fession. She has had, aside from such education as her means have enabled her to obtain, good practical drill in the normal institutes. She not only knows her text-books, but she knows how to teach. And then the ingeniously-devised school-book, in which every point of information is adjusted to such a nicety that they are rather works of art and books of entertainment than but the dull means to a desired end.
The little flocks of children who run along the country road in their bare feet and sun-bonnets and chip hats, do not have to squirm and twist their uneasy legs all day over a page in the English reader which they cannot under- stand. They begin their morning's work with a chorus, which puts them all in good humor to start with. Then they come to timed classes, at the tinkle of the bell ; they are entertained and diverted as well as instructed at every step. Before there is any possibility of restlessness, they go through a five-minutes round of calisthenics, which put a wholesome quietus upon their muscles and their mischief. Wise play is so mixed with teaching that they never really discover which is which until they find themselves ready to teach school them- selves in turn.
This is the case of the present compared with the labor of the past. And in this way is the generality of education secured. The ways are smoothed, the tediousness beguiled and the deprivation supplanted by an affluence of aids.
In 1854, Gov. Grimes, in his inaugural message said: "The safety and perpetuity of our republican institutions depend upon the diffusion of intelli- gence among the masses of the people. The statistics of the penitentiaries and alms-houses throughout the country show that education is the best pre- ventive of crime. They show, also, that the prevention of these evils is much less expensive than than the punishment of the one and the relief of the other."
So, with all our new-fangled methods, our ornamental, well-ventilated and well-furnished schoolhouses, our accomplished instructors with modern notions, we are not extravagant. We are simply taking from the expenses of crime and pauperism and putting it into enduring and beautiful shape. We are helping to sustain the Government by rearing up in every town and in every country neighborhood a generation of enlightened and intelligent people, cosmopolitan in the sense of schools, if not in that wider cosmopolitanism which comes alone from actual contact with the great world.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
The following statement is compiled from last general report of the County Superintendent of Schools:
Number of district townships.
10
Number of independent districts 27
Number of subdistricts. 65
Number of ungraded schools. 86
Number of graded schools ..
Total number of teachers employed.
205
Total number of persons between the ages of 5 and 21 years.
7,845
Total enrollment.
5,540
Average attendance. 3,355
Number of schoolhouses.
85
Valuation of schoolhouses and property.
$128,255
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.
Previous to the passage of the revised school law in 1858, the office of County Superintendent had no existence in Iowa. A part of the duties devolv- ing on the County Superintendent were performed by the County School Fund Commissioner.
The revised school law of 1858 created the office of County Superintend- ent. Previous to that date, the county school officer was known as the School Fund Commissioner. His duties were in part the same as that of the County Superintendent, such as distributing blanks and making reports to the State Superintendent ; but his principal duties were that of taking charge of the school funds of the county, arising from the sale of the school lands: that is, his duties were more that of a financial agent than of Superintendent of Schools.
The first election of County Superintendent was in April, 1858. William F. Brannan, a lawyer, was the first County Superintendent, and held the office until January 1, 1860. His successor was Rev. Charles Woodhouse, Univers- alist, whose term expired on January 1, 1862. D. H. Goodno, teacher, suc- ceeded Mr. Woodhouse, and, on the 1st of October, 1862, Mr. Goodno resigned to accept the position of Major in the Gray-Beard Regiment, as it was called, under Col. Kincade, and the Board of County Supervisors appointed George B. Denison, teacher, as Mr. Goodno's successor, who held the office during the remainder of Mr. Goodno's term, and, in October, 1863, was elected for the full term, and was succeeded, January 1. 1866, by R. H. McCampbell, teacher. Mr. McCampbell was re-elected in 1867, and, on the 1st of January, 1869, resigned, to accept the office of County Auditor: and the Board of Supervis- ors appointed Frank Gilbert, teacher, to fill out the unexpired term. In Octo- ber. 1869, Charles Hamilton, teacher, was elected, and held the office from Jan- uary 1, 1870, to January 1, 1872, when he was succeeded by Thomas Brown, teacher, who was re-elected and held the office till Jannary 1, 1876. The present incumbent, R. W. Leverich, teacher, was elected in October, 1875, and re-elected in 1877. His term of office will expire January 1. 1880.
POST OFFICES.
The post offices in the county are as follows : Adams, Atalissa, Conesville, Fairport, Melpine, Moscow, Muscatine. Nichol Station, Pine Mills, Pleasant Prairie, Stockton, Summit Ridge, Sweetland Centre, West Liberty and Wilton Junction.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
MUSCATINE.
During the summer of 1833, Maj. George Davenport, who was trading with the Indians at Rock Island, sent a man named Farnham and two assistants to erect a log trading-post at "Sandstone Bluffs," or "Grindstone Bluffs," as some are disposed to call them, the present site of Muscatine. A two-roomed log building was erected by those men, and, some time later, a small stock of goods was opened for sale by Farnham, under Davenport's direction.
In 1834, according to the statement of Mr. McGrew, who passed over the site of the city in that year, while prospecting, there was no other building than the trading-house.
The house was built on the river-bank, just above where Iowa avenue now touches the shore. Mr. Farnham continued to sell goods there until the fall of 1835, at which time he died, in Stephenson, now Rock Island, Ill.
During the winter of 1836, John Vanater, who had prospected this region at a much earlier date, negotiated with Maj. Davenport for the claim and trad- ing-post at this point. On the 20th day of February, 1836, quitclaim deeds were issued by Davenport in favor of Col. Vanater and Capt. Benjamin Clark, for $200.
The size of the "claim " was one-half mile square, running one-quarter of a mile each way up and down the river, from the house, and half a mile inland. The line extended about sixty feet beyond what is now called Eighth street.
In May, 1836, the proprietors employed Maj. William Gordon, then a res- ident of Rock Island, to survey a town on their claim. When the first plat was made, the name of "Newburg" was given the town; but before the work had progressed very far that title was discarded, and the name of
BLOOMINGTON
was bestowed upon the new aspirant for notice and fame, which designation was retained for about twelve years. Owing to the proximity of Bloomington, Ill., mail-matter was frequently sent astray, and to avoid that difficulty the name was changed to correspond with that of the county ; the township, how- ever, still retains the name of Bloomington. In these pages we shall speak of Bloomington and Muscatine according as the town was styled during the period then written about.
In 1836, the original proprietors began to sell undivided interests in the town. In August of that year, Dr. John H. Foster and Suel Foster paid $500 for a one-sixth interest. This was purchased of Capt. Clark, and was his last remaining portion. He resided at that time at Clark's Ferry, which now is called Buffalo.
Other parties bought claims in the property at about that date. Among the number whose names are now recalled were Moses Couch, Charles H. Fish, T. M. Isett, Adam Funck, Henry Funck, Robert C. Kinney, William St. John, G. H. Hight, B. White, William Devoe and J. W. Neally.
September 28, 1836, William Gordon (who was no relation of Maj. Will- iam Gordon, the original surveyor, by the way) landed at this place, and, the following day, began work on the
FIRST FRAME BUILDING
in Bloomington. It was designed as a hotel, and was used for that purpose for many years. In 1879, its remains are still standing. The building was
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
erected for R. C. Kinney. At that time there were but two buildings in the place.
Mr. Gordon says he found the following persons in the village when he came : William St. John, Giles and Jonathan Pettibone, J. Craig, John Champ, Norman Fullington, Moses Couch, Lyman C. Hine, Suel Foster, John Vanater, James W. Casey, Adam Ogilvie, T. M. Isett, Mr. Norton and wife and R. C. Kinney and wife.
The year previous to this, as is shown in the general history of the county, in May, 1835, James M. Casey (or Kasey, as it is sometimes spelled in the records) made a claim just down the river from Vanater & Clark's, and called his place " Casey's Landing," or "Newburg." It was from that name the first plat derived its temporary designation. The original limits did not include Casey's claim in the town survey. As that is now a part of Muscatine, it is proper to say that the first proprietors were J. W. Casey, Edward E. Fay, William St. John, Norman Fullington, H. Reece, Jonathan Pettibone, L. C. Hine, H. H. Hine, R. P. Lowe, Stephen Whicher, J. E. Fletcher, Breese & Higginbotham, Abijah Whiting, W. D. Abernathy, A. Smith and others. This claim was one mile square, including the territory occupied by the cemetery, by Butlerville, and down to the slough.
The winter of 1836-37 was an exceeding cold one. The river froze over very early. there was plenty of snow and the mercury went down to 32° below zero one day. For five days and nights the mercury remained below zero. Flour was sold at $25 per barrel, and salt sold at $6 per bushel. Supplies had to be carried by team from St. Louis. This intense cold has been equaled but once since that date. On the 10th of February, 1868, the mercury reached 32° below zero.
The second frame building erected in Bloomington, and which for many years was the best building in the place, was erected in the spring of 1837, for John Vanater, by William Gordon, assisted by Henry Reece, John Reece, James Reece, Jonathan Pettibone, L. C. Hine and James Craig. These men boarded at the "Iowa House," Kinney's famous hostelry, at the time they were thus engaged. The frame of the building then in process of erection was made of timbers cut from near the site of the structure, and was of oak. No pine lum- ber was obtainable in those days. Even the weather-boards were of oak. The town pointed with pride to this building for several years. Vanater opened a tavern therein as soon as it was completed, and he was succeeded by John Cole- man, the first resident Justice.
The sixth marriage that took place in the county was solemnized in the " parlors " of the hotel, by Esquire Coleman. The contracting parties were Washington A. Rigby and Lydia Barr. Josiah Parvin soon became manager of the hotel. Some say that Mr. Mitchell kept the house for a time, but that statement is pronounced erroneous by others, who say that Miss Mitchell was, for a time, the ruling spirit under other management. The house stood on the corner of Iowa avenue and Second street, but was moved to Third street, to make room for Silverman & Bro.'s building.
In 1837. Adam Ogilvie opened the second store in Bloomington, counting the trading-house as the first.
Joseph Bridgman began the dry goods business in 1837, the first house of the kind in town, and still continues in trade-the oldest merchant in the county.
William Gordon, Henry Reece and H. H. Hine had carpenter-shops in the place in 1837.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
A terrible accident occurred on the river about seven miles below Bloom- ington, August 18, 1837. The steamer " Dubuque" exploded its boiler, kill- ing twenty-two persons. Capt. Smoker was in command of the ill-fated craft. Seventeen of the victims were brought to the town and interred where School- house No. 1 now stands. William Gordon performed the sad duties of under- taker on that occasion. The records of the Commissioners' Court show that he was allowed $136, for his services and for the seventeen coffins furnished by him. The remains of the dead were removed when the schoolhouse was erected, and re-interred in the cemetery.
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